RESOLUTION NO. 010702
Expressing the intent of
the Mayor and Council to work with the private sector and community leaders to
devise a strategy and process for assuring long term, qualitative performance
of the expiring use housing.
WHEREAS, Mayor
Kay Barnes' Citizen Advisory Committee on Housing recommended that expiring
use project-based Section 8 housing remains available as, or is replaced
by, safe, decent, energy-efficient and affordable housing for very low to
moderate-income, working poor households; and
WHEREAS, expiring
use Section 8 housing is a generic term used to describe rental housing
supported in some substantial way by Federal resources; and
WHEREAS, there
are approximately 7,800 units of such housing in our metro area with the
greatest concentration here in Kansas City, Missouri; and
WHEREAS, over
the next 5 years, ownership of these properties will change and go into private
individuals and, in the absence of an organized and systematic local response
by city government, community organizations, and the private sector, such
change may be detrimental to the whole community; and
WHEREAS, under
recent changes in federal law governing these properties, especially HUDs
Mark to Market program, rents will be adjusted downward, in many cases
leading to either accelerated deterioration of the property or sale to a new
owner who may be less economically able to maintain and effectively manage the
property; and
WHEREAS, the
federal government is withdrawing from direct involvement in housing and cannot
reasonably be expected to lead the process of addressing issues of expiring
use; and
WHEREAS, the
decrease or elimination of federally assisted housing programs will undermine
Kansas Citys recent strives to expand home ownership in many of our most
distressed neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, much of
the expiring use housing is highly beneficial to the community and it
is imperative to continue the trends that have allowed the City to achieve one
of its main goals in affordable housing; decent, safe, and affordable housing
for the elderly; and
WHEREAS,
considerable progress has been made in neighborhood stabilization in recent
years with market forces reawakening and a substantial increment of private
sector participation in partnerships between charitable organizations and
financing institutions; and
WHEREAS, success
in managing expiring use housing can be achieved by effective
collaboration between capable, committed, and imaginative leadership from the
public and private sectors working together with the community as a whole; NOW,
THEREFORE,